Red Bull rejected approaches from Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso before the world champions committed their F1 futures to Ferrari and Aston Martin respectively.
This is a startling claim made by respected F1 reporter Mark Hughes, who supported a fan theory that Hamilton and Alonso, as well as Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, were offered seats alongside Max Verstappen. It's canceled out.
Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso saw Red Bull's approach rejected
Hamilton shocked the F1 world in February when he announced he would end his long and successful relationship with Mercedes at the end of this year, signing a multi-year deal to join Ferrari from 2025.
Confirmation of Hamilton's shock move to Ferrari comes just five months after he signed a new two-year contract to remain at Mercedes, with the seven-time world champion having breached his new contract to join the Scuderia. triggered the clause.
Ahead of the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it is claimed that Hamilton approached Red Bull about the possibility of taking the seat as he considered his options, with team principal Christian Horner claiming that Hamilton's father Anthony had been in direct contact with him. It revealed that.
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Lewis Hamilton finally gets a chance to escape the specter of Abu Dhabi 2021
But Horner insisted the team had not had “serious discussions” with Hamilton and insisted there was “never a seat available”.
Meanwhile, Alonso announced on Thursday that he will remain at Aston Martin until at least the end of the 2026 season, past his 45th birthday.
The decision to stay at Aston Martin comes amid uncertainty surrounding Verstappen's future with the team, following reports that Alonso is “pushing very hard” for a Red Bull seat in 2025. I was disappointed.
In response to a fan's tweet claiming that Hamilton, Alonso, Leclerc and Norris have all rejected Red Bull seats within the past 12 months, Hughes replied:
“Neither Leclerc, Hamilton nor Alonso were given a spot. Hamilton and Alonso both tried but were told no.”
A notable omission from Hughes' tweet was the name of Norris, who had been heavily linked with a move to Red Bull before signing a new multi-year deal with McLaren in January.
Speaking after his new deal was announced, Norris rejected the idea that he was afraid of Verstappen, who has won 47 of the past 70 races before the start of his first title-winning season in 2021, and decided not to pursue options. To join Red Bull.
Asked if he was afraid of competing against Verstappen in a comparable car, he told Sky Sports: “I'm not sure.
“Is Max one of the best drivers in F1 history? Absolutely. I think he's proven that enough.
“He's in a team that he's very comfortable with and a lot of things are built around him, so it's hard for anyone to compete against the Max he has now, even the Max he had a few years ago. is very difficult.
“So I don't think it's a question of being scared or not scared. I don't think you're ever afraid to confront someone.
“But even if you get into the team, are you in a position to challenge someone right away? And are you comfortable doing that?
“And I think that's a 'no' for any driver. It takes time to adapt, it takes time to settle in.
“And if you want to race against the best drivers in the world, that's not the best thing to do. It's not the smartest thing to do.
“But I would love to race with Max. Some of the previous battles have been fun and I'm looking forward to even more of this year's battles.”
Asked if he had talked to other teams before signing with McLaren, Norris added: “Yes.
“I'm not going to lie and say no. There's always small discussions and we talk to people and think, 'What can we offer?' But it never went any further than that.”
Read next: Christian Horner hits Mercedes' overly ambitious F1 2025 driver plans
